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The complete Tamla and Motown singles of The Satintones – the soul, R&B & popular music juggernaut's first male vocal group – and a treasure trove of rare post doo wop from the end of the 50s/beginning of the 60s! It's fascinating for the history herein – the group is hugely under-anthologized in a world of myriad Motown compilations – which is a real shame, as you'll hear in this sweet set – with numbers that rely on the doo wop influences as well as tunes more devoted to lead vocals – with a slew of early Berry Gordy productions and compositions. The set includes the then legally challenged Shirelles knockoff/answer song "Tomorrow and Always" plus "Motor City", "Going To The Hop", "Sugar Daddy", "A Love That Can Never Be", "Foot Stomping Time", My Kind Of Love", "Boogie Woogie Heart", "Because I Love You", "You Can't Beat My Lovin" and many more. 26 tracks in all.

An incredible record – quite possibly our favorite ever by Marvin Gaye! The album is quite unique – written by Leon Ware, and recorded in collaboration with him – done as a "suite" of tracks based on themes of passion, joy, and new love – all of which were very much on the mind of Marvin during his troubled years of the mid 70s. The whole thing's beautifully put together – superbly orchestrated with just the right funky touches, and even a sweet bit of electronics to give the set a nice edge. An amazing album – one of those soul records that goes deeper and deeper than you ever thought pop music could go – filled with great tracks that include "I Want You", "After the Dance", "Come Live With Me", and "Since I Had You". Genius – pure genius!

Marvin Gaye's last album for Motown – and a wonderful cap to a great run of sexy soul for the 70s – filled with great mellow grooves that rival the genius of his earlier work in the decade! There's a glowing, slow-burning feel to some of the best numbers here – a vibe that's right out of the I Want You era, with touches of Let's Get It On too. But there's also a slightly more mature approach too – a bit more cautious, even when confident – no doubt informed by the struggles of his Here My Dear album, which also echoes somewhat in this set. The record's more proof that even when not coming across with a classic hit, Marvin's still very much at the top of his game – an artist that stands head and shoulders above his contemporaries – with none of the too-commercial or too-dated modes that held other folks back! Titles include "Life Is For Learning", "Praise", "Funk Me", "Far Cry", "Love Party", and "Love Me Now Or Love Me Later".

A wonderful 70s live album from Marvin Gaye – a set that was as expansive, ambitious, and sophisticated as his studio work from the time! The album's put together almost like a 3-sided portrait of Marvin – in that it begins with a long section of current work, moves into a "fossil medley" of older hits, then returns to "now" to showcase two of his biggest his of the time. The orchestrations are sublime – wonderfully carried off in a live setting amidst some very frantic screams from the females in the audience – and Marvin's vocals are incredible too – floating out magically amidst the crowd, and easily some of his best on record from the decade. Titles include the album's hit reading of "Distant Lover" – plus "Let's Get It On", "What's Going On", "Trouble Man", "Inner City Blues", "Distant Lover", "Keep Getting It On", and "Jan". Packaged in a cool gatefold, with a die cut image of Marvin's big silver boots!

Marvin Marvin Marvin – just when we thought you couldn't impress us any more, you took it to the next level! Trouble Man is a heck of a wonderful surprise from an artist that most folks really only knew as a singer – a fantastically funky blacksploitation soundtrack, conceived and composed by Marvin himself – and served up with some occasional vocals that work beautifully with the album's cool instrumental grooves! The set's easily one of Gaye's most righteous records ever – almost a second chapter to What's Going On, but more instrumental – and like that classic set, it really shows the whole new range of vision that Marvin was able to work in the studio. Gaye gets a bit of arranging help on some tracks from Gene Page and JJ Johnson – and the album's filled with great cuts – including the landmark "T Plays It Cool", plus other gems like "Don't Mess With Mister T", "Main Theme From Trouble Man", "The Break In", and "T Stands For Trouble". Very funky, very sophisticated, and very soulful!

One of the few cases in the history of pop music where the record is worth all the hype! Marvin blew everyone's mind when he unleashed this amazing suite of political soul tunes – not only just because he'd moved past the simple love songs of earlier years, but also because he was working with an amazingly complicated approach to soul music, one that would touch the work of others for years to come. David Van DePitte arranged and conducted the whole album – with soaring orchestrations mixed with smooth modern soul, in a style that reminds us a lot of the work of Charles Stepney at Cadet, who'd been doing this sort of thing for years but with less success. In the hands of Marvin Gaye, though, the material has an amazing quality – and all the disparate elements of the album are fused together in one powerful message by Marvin's incredible voice. One that we never tire of, and a record to be listened to all the way through every time. Titles include "What's Goin On", "Save The Children", "Flyin High (In The Friendly Sky)", "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)", and "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)".

A bold little set from Thelma Houston – produced with a strong disco finish, in a way that makes the best of her fierce diva vocals! The album's got a unity that's nicely appreciated – especially since some of Houston's other records could be a bit too unfocused or overblown – and the production by Hal Davis and arrangements by Arthur G Wright all have a strongly soulful quality that never steps too far out of line. Titles include a cover of "Love Machine", plus "Saturday Night Sunday Morning", "Ride To The Rainbow", "Paying For It With My Heart", "I Wanna Be Back In Love Again", and the excellent modern groover "Give It To Me".

The Isley Brothers on Motown – a really key step forward for the group, who find a whole new level of soul with help from the Holland Dozier Holland team! There's a warmth here missing from previous Isleys material – that rough edge that was more part of their rocking years, softened a bit to let the vocals really take off with straightforward power – that mix of raw energy and sublime precision they'd explore later on the T-Neck years – helped strongly here by the Motown influence. Titles include the massive hit "This Old Heart Of Mine", plus "Take Some Time Out for Love", "Baby Don't You Do It", "Nowhere To Run", "Put Yourself In My Place", "Seek & You Shall Find", and "Who Could Ever Doubt My Love".

One of Eddie's classic dancefloor groovers for Tamla, with production and arrangements by the hit team of Frank Wilson and Leonard Caston! The album keeps Eddie's hit "boogie" groove going strong – grooving mostly in a midtempo smooth soul style that would become a dominant approach to soul during the next few years, Eddie and Motown's contribution to the soul legacy of the 70s that was nearly as strong as that of Philly soul. Titles include "Boogie Down", "Hooked On Your Love", "Honey Brown", "Tell Her Love Has Felt The Need", and "Loving You The Second Time Around".

A truly amazing album – unlike anything Eddie Kendricks ever did before, or since – and one of those records that really helped shape the sound of soul in the 70s! The music is as rich and powerful as the image on the cover – with some righteous undercurrents that really mark the time and place of the record, yet also help it transcend so many other standard soul modes of the period too! Arrangements are wonderfully complex – as you'll hear on the classic groovers "Girl You Need A Change Of Mind" and "Date With The Rain" – each very different numbers, but both a showcase for Kendricks' wonderful vocal approach. Other titles include the progressive "People Hold On" – plus "I'm On The Sideline", "Day By Day", "If You Let Me", "Let Me Run Into Your Lonely Heart", and "Someday We'll Have A Better World".

A truly amazing album – unlike anything Eddie Kendricks ever did before, or since – and one of those records that really helped shape the sound of soul in the 70s! The music is as rich and powerful as the image on the cover – with some righteous undercurrents that really mark the time and place of the record, yet also help it transcend so many other standard soul modes of the period too! Arrangements are wonderfully complex – as you'll hear on the classic groovers "Girl You Need A Change Of Mind" and "Date With The Rain" – each very different numbers, but both a showcase for Kendricks' wonderful vocal approach. Other titles include the progressive "People Hold On" – plus "I'm On The Sideline", "Day By Day", "If You Let Me", "Let Me Run Into Your Lonely Heart", and "Someday We'll Have A Better World".

A sweet groover from the Marvelettes – and a record that completely re-casts their sound for the Motown of the 70s! The group's still got the great soprano harmonies that made their early hits so wonderful, but the arrangements on the set are deeper and more sophisticated – taking them into hipper adult soul territory that we really love. Smokey Robinson produced, and wrote a lot of tracks for the set – and the backings are the work of Wade Marcus and David Van De Pitte – both well matched, and giving the album a fully unified sound. Titles include "So I Can Love You", "Marionette", "A Breathtaking Guy", "Uptown", "Someday We'll Be Together", and "Our Lips Seem To Rhyme Everytime".

A great, rare early album by The Miracles! The album features the group back when they still had a female member, who gives the band a beautiful high harmony sound in tandem with Smokey Robinson's falsetto vocals. The reissue includes the great original cover – and loads of nice original tracks, like "You've Really Got A Hold On Me", "Your Love", "A Love She Can Count On", "I Can Take A Hint", and "Such Is Love, Such Is Life". Great great stuff – with a much rawer sound than later recordings!

A great vehicle for the Smokey Robinson sound in the 80s – and a record that helped Smokey kick off the decade with a really massive hit! "Being With You" still let Smokey stay in an older style of soul-based vocals, without slipping into the adult contemporary sound that would hurt so many other artists of the time – and most of the record has Smokey still stepping around some mellow grooves arranged by Sonny Burke, of the sort that let his sweetly cracking voice come to the forefront. Titles include "Being With You", "You Are Forever", "Can't Fight Love", "As You Do", "If You Wanna Make Love", "Food For Thought", and "Who's Sad".

Warm thoughts, and equally warm vocals – thanks to the legendary Smokey Robinson, who's still sounding great here at the start of the 80s! The record's surprisingly charming – and has the laidback, mellow-going sort of sound that Robinson first crafted on Quiet Storm – but delivered here with a style that's even more personal and intimate, too. Things are quite stripped-down, especially given the overblown styles other singers were reaching for at the time – and titles include "Let Me Be The Clock", "Into Each Rain Some Life Must Fall", 'Wine, Women & Song", 'What's In Your Life For Me", and "I Want To Be Your Love".

A romping groover from Smokey Robinson & The Miracles – and a record that really has them punching things up, after starting out for Motown as a much more mellow harmony group! Robinson's crackling lead really makes the set sparkle – that warm, honest, earnest quality that Smokey hit strongly at this stage – still managing to inflect a deep sense of soul, while keeping things polished enough to match the rest of 60s Motown! The set features the "Tears Of A Clown", plus the excellent "Soulful Shack", one of a number of great "soul party" tunes from the late 60s – and other cuts include "Dancin's Alright", "You Must Be Love", "It's A Good Feeling", "Don't Think It's Me", and "My Love For You".

Smokey and the group do a great job on some lesser-known numbers – all presented with that wonderful warm polish that The Miracles brought to soul, a sound that's always great, even on a lesser-hit album like this! Titles include "Give Her Up", "Special Occasion", "Yester Love", "If You Can Want", "Just Losing You", "Much Better Off", and "You Only Build Me Up To Tear Me Down".

A bit smoother and more focused than some of Stevie's earlier work from the 70s – perhaps because he'd been having some chart success with his slicker numbers, but still a pretty groundbreaking batch of grooves that must have been awesome to hear when it first came out! The record includes the slow-funk moog classic "Creepin", which has these wonderful washes of sound throughout, weird vocals by Stevie, and some drums that bump around in off-kilter little patterns just at the right moments. Also includes the hit "Boogie On Reggae Woman", plus "Too Shy To Say", "You Haven't Done Nothin", "It Ain't No Use", "Bird Of Beauty", and "Please Don't Go".

A mega-hit for Stevie Wonder – an album that features a killer title cut, plus lots of other wonderful tunes that show the world that a full-formed adult soul star had arrived on the market! There's a depth here that's really great – not the totally heady, righteous sound of Stevie in the early 70s – but still a sensitivity that goes beyond simple Motown pop, and which is also underscored with some great keyboard work as well. Wonder produced the record, and arrangers include Paul Riser, Wade Marcus, and Henry Crosby – and titles include the huge title hit – "Signed Sealed & Delivered" – plus "Heaven Help Us All", "Sugar", "Never Had A Dream Come True", "Don't Wonder Why", and "I Gotta Have A song".

A sweet little double LP – one that had some folks saying that Stevie should have stayed away from the "2LP syndrome", but for us a real treasure with lots of hidden gems. Besides the hits "Isn't She Lovely" and "Sir Duke", which were more than enough to carry the set in the record shops, the record's got lots of other nice cuts, including many that have that complicated jazzy feel of Stevie's work on the Inner Visions album. Titles include "Ngiculela – Esa Una Historia", "Ordinary Pain", "Black Man", "Village Ghetto Land", and "Love's In Need Of Love Today".

Pivotal work from Stevie Wonder – an album with a depth and darkness that never would have been expected from his records of the 60s! In a way, the album's almost Stevie's What's Going On – as it's a self-penned, self-produced effort that really steps off from previous efforts – moving into mature, sophisticated, and socially conscious territory that was steeped in the new freedoms of the time. Stevie gets some great help on the set from a young Syreeta, who co-wrote most of the tracks and sings a bit of backup vocals – and who may well be responsible for some of the mature and slightly pained themes that were beginning to emerge in Wonder's love tunes. The whole thing's great – an amazing transformation throughout, and filled with great tunes that include "If You Really Love Me", "Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer", "Do Yourself A Favor", "Take Up A Course In Happiness", "Sunshine In Their Eyes", "Look Around", and "I Wanna Talk To You".

Marvin Marvin Marvin – just when we thought you couldn't impress us any more, you took it to the next level! Trouble Man is a heck of a wonderful surprise from an artist that most folks really only knew as a singer – a fantastically funky blacksploitation soundtrack, conceived and composed by Marvin himself – and served up with some occasional vocals that work beautifully with the album's cool instrumental grooves! The set's easily one of Gaye's most righteous records ever – almost a second chapter to What's Going On, but more instrumental – and like that classic set, it really shows the whole new range of vision that Marvin was able to work in the studio. Gaye gets a bit of arranging help on some tracks from Gene Page and JJ Johnson – and the album's filled with great cuts – including the landmark "T Plays It Cool", plus other gems like "Don't Mess With Mister T", "Main Theme From Trouble Man", "The Break In", and "T Stands For Trouble". Very funky, very sophisticated, and very soulful!

A classic batch of Motown duets from Marvin Gaye and some of his best female co-stars – with a few contributions apiece from Mary Wells, Kim Weston, and Tammi Terrell! Although other artists explored the male/female duet mode back in the 60s, few did it as well as Marvin – thanks in part to a warmly sensitive vocal approach that made his duets come across as personal, loving conversations – and not the too-gimmicky modes used to push the big stars over at other labels. Marvin & Mary Wells sing "Once Upon A Time", "What's The Matter With You Baby", "Together", and "Deed I Do". Marvin & Kim Weston sing "I Want You 'Round", "What Good Am I Without You", and "It Takes Two". And Marvin and Tammi Terrell sing "Your Precious Love", "Little Ole Girl, Little Ole Boy", "I Can't Help But Love You", and "Good Lovin Ain't Easy To Come By".

Smoking Motown work from Thelma Houston – a great 70s set that catches the singer at the top of her groove! The album's polished, but never in a too-commercial way – and the grooves acknowledge the growing role of the dancefloor in mainstream soul, yet also mostly stay away from some of the disco cliches of the time – thanks to sophisticated work by arrangers Art Wright, Paul Riser, and Michael Smith! Although we should also point out that this is the record that gave Houston one of her bigger hits – the key crossover track "Don't Leave Me This Way" – nestled nicely amidst other great numbers like "Don't Know Why I Love You", "Any Way You Like It", "If It's The Last Thing I Do", and "Don't Make Me Pay".

Eddie's sweet clubby soul is produced by the master, Norman Harris – and the result is one of Eddie's best crossover albums of the 70s. The groove is pure Philly, with the usual crack team in the studio – Vince Montana, Bobby Eli, Ron Baker, and Harris himself. Includes "Born Again", "Sweet Tenderoni", "Don't Put Off Until Tomorrow", and the great "To You From Me".

Classic girl group soul by one of Motown's best uptown groups. Tracks include "My Baby Must Be A Magician", "Your Love Can Save Me", "What's Easy For Two Is Harder For One", "Here I Am Baby", and "You're The One For Me Bobby". Nice stuff, and unlike a lot of other Motown LPs from the time, this one's not filled with covers of other tracks, and has a lot of nice original material.

A very mellow overview of Smokey's later solo work – the post-Quiet Storm period, when he was easily slipping from classic soul into adult contemporary territory – and really crossing over big at the time! And while we could probably say that most of this stuff is far watered down from the original Motown inspiration, the work's also got a certain sort of gentle "adult" love song charm. Titles include 3 new tracks exclusive to the album – "Just Like You", "Don't Play Another Love Song", and "Just A Touch Away" – plus "Cruisin", "Blame It On Love", "Baby Come Close", "Tell Me Tomorrow", and "Being With You".

Incredible work – a record that should be in every household! Smokey breaks free of the group sound of the Miracles albums – hitting a whole new mode, and inventing the "Quiet Storm" radio format along the way! The title cut – "Quiet Storm" – is a majestic long-building track that's as important to mellow soul as Larry Mizell's work was to jazz funk at the same time, and it's got a similar layering effect that has sounds building and spinning, with a bit of sound effects, great keyboards, and cool moogy touches that recall some of Bobbi Humphrey's best work for Blue Note, but filtered through a mellow ballad style. The whole album's great, and other tracks include "Baby That's Backatcha", "The Agony & The Ecstasy", "Coincidentally", and "Wedding Song". Proof that Motown was still great in the 70s!

One of Syreeta's deepest albums ever – proud, bold, and wonderfully righteous throughout – filled with a sense of message and purpose that was quite rare for Motown at the start of the 80s! Syreeta's really tapped back into that wonderful energy that made her so great when first working with Stevie Wonder – a warm, jazzy glow that suits her unique vocals perfectly – and which is shaped to perfection here by producers Richard Perry, Hal Davis, and Jerry Peters! The album's got a few funky groovers that are definitely Motown circa 1980, but its best moments are the mellower ones – which hit a Minnie Riperton-like quality that's mighty nice. Sheree Brown sings with Syreeta on a few cuts – and titles include "Blame It On The Sun", "Let Me Be The One", "Love Fire", "Here's My Love", and "You Bring Out The Love In Me" – plus "Please Stay" and "One More Time For Love", both duets with Billy Preston.

Two of the better cuts off Stevie's Hotter Than July LP, a sleeper from the early 80s that we find ourselves going back to more and more. "Do I Do" snaps along nicely with a smooth modern soul feel, and "Rocket Love" is a wonderfully spacey ballad, with Stevie plying his some of his finest synth work ever!

Very high concept work from Stevie Wonder! The record is, in fact, about the "secret life of plants" – partially used as a soundtrack for a film of the same name, but also acting as kind of a storybook in itself! Stevie's exploring a wide range of plant life and plant themes on the set – often in a way that has his keyboards taking center stage in little symphonies of soul that unfold like the petals of a flower in the morning sun – and which stand out as quite different from some of his vocal work, marking him as a talented electronic musician in his own right. Many tracks do have lyrics, too – often with themes of growing, seeding, and other garden metaphors that are easily translated to the human experience. Titles include "Secret Life Of Plants", "Outside My Window", "A Seed's A Star", "Race Babbling", "Black Orchid", "Send One Your Love", "Tree", "Come Back As A Flower", and "Ai No Sono".

A pivotal album from Stevie Wonder – one of his first really heady records, and a tremendous little set from start to finish! The Wonder heard here is light years from the simple pop of the early days – really stretching out both as a songwriter and musician – coming up with a richly spiritual sound that's completely amazing. Stevie also produced the record himself – and takes his talents to the next level in the effort – layering sounds together beautifully, and making them come out with a crystal clear realization of his new musical vision. A wonderful place to start digging Stevie Wonder – with the killer classics "Superwoman" and "I Love Every Little Thing About You" – plus "Love Having You Around", "Seems So Long", "Girl Blue", and "Happier Than The Morning Sun".

A killer collection of 60s Stevie Wonder work for Motown – almost a greatest hit of the label's greatest hits series – given how wonderful most of the tunes are! The set does a great job of moving through the full range of Stevie's 60s talents – from instrumental groovers heavy on drums and harmonica, to vocal tracks that show the growing power of Wonder's appeal – a maturing, magnificent style that would set a whole new tone for soul in the 70s! Titles include "Contract On Love", "Fingertips Part 2", "I Was Made To Love Her", "Work Out Stevie Work Out", "Uptight", "Castles In The Sand", "Hey Harmonica Man", "I'm Wondering", and the always great "Hey Love".

One of the classics, and an album that's filled with a sense of majesty and power that will knock you dead – despite the stupid cover of Stevie sitting on a hill, playing in the dirt! By this point, Stevie knows he's on top of the world – and he's honing the sophisticated experiments of the previous few albums into a tightly woven pop sound that would pay Motown a huge dividend for letting him take chances with his music! Includes the big hits "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" and "Superstition", plus the amazing mellow synthesizer classic "You've Got It Bad Girl" and the fuzzy funky "Maybe Your Baby". Great stuff, and one that won't let you down!

A beautiful little single by this obscure Motown harmony group! "Same Old Love" is a dreamy number that feels like the best of Continental 4, Soul Generation, or other indie east coast groups – with a rising spirit and falsetto lead that we really really love! "Last Row" is another winner – a sweet number with a style that's almost in the Bacharach mode.

A wonderful 70s live album from Marvin Gaye – a set that was as expansive, ambitious, and sophisticated as his studio work from the time! The album's put together almost like a 3-sided portrait of Marvin – in that it begins with a long section of current work, moves into a "fossil medley" of older hits, then returns to "now" to showcase two of his biggest his of the time. The orchestrations are sublime – wonderfully carried off in a live setting amidst some very frantic screams from the females in the audience – and Marvin's vocals are incredible too – floating out magically amidst the crowd, and easily some of his best on record from the decade. Titles include the album's hit reading of "Distant Lover" – plus "Let's Get It On", "What's Going On", "Trouble Man", "Inner City Blues", "Distant Lover", "Keep Getting It On", and "Jan".

Amazing early work from Marvin Gaye – a set that's more jazz than soul, with a really unique sort of sound! Marvin's vocals are sublime, but in a completely different way than on his later hits – almost a bit broken at times, next to some very broken-down piano lines used in the album's spare instrumentation – an off-tune keyboard that makes for a very heartfelt feel to the record, one that's more indie charm than Motown polish! Gaye's got a hint of Nat Cole at times, Sam Cooke at others – although without the poise of either – and although we'd love the record on its own, it's even more amazing as a key starting point for one of the most soulful evolutions of the 60s. Titles include "How High The Moon", "Love For Sale", "Always", "Easy Living", "Witchcraft", "You Don't Know What Love Is", and "Never Let You Go".

Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell – definitely all you need, if you're looking for Motown duet work of the 60s! The album's possibly the best-remembered from the pair – filled with classics that really define the Marvin duo mode – sublime little tunes that have Gaye and Terrell trading lines back and forth, almost as if they were conversing together as a romantic couple! Production is sublime – handled by Harvey Fuqua and Johnny Bristol – and the grooves have a great mix of high moments and low-dipping notes, which further underscores the depths of feeling in the vocal performances. The title cut's one that we never tire of hearing – and the LP's got lots of other nice moments, including "Come On & See Me", "I'll Never Stop Loving You Baby", "Memory Chest", "Give In You Just Can't Win", and "Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing".

Incredible early-to-mid 70s albums from The Miracles – Renaissance and Do It Baby – plus a bonus Tom Moulton remix! First up, Renaissance truly is one, and proof that the the group could do amazing things away from Smokey Robinson! Of course, they've got a heck of a lot of great help on this set – from some of Motown's best, like Willie Hutch, Fonce Mizell, Freddie Perren, and even Marvin Gaye, who wrote and produced the album's standout track "I Love You Secretly", a stone treasure that's as good as any of Marvin's recordings from the time! The whole set is great, though, filled with wonderful songs that never got their due – and which will make this one stand for years as a treasure to fans of harmony soul! Titles include "I Didn't Realize The Show Was Over", "I Love You Secretly", "I Don't Need No Reason", "Don't Let It End", and "What Is A Heart Good For". The follow-up Do It Baby is another overlooked post-Smokey gem – a beautifully display of Miracles' unmatched soul harmony mastery – on a record that's just about as good as anything they did with Smokey. This one actually reminds us a lot of some of our favorite Philly albums coming out at the same time! Arrangements are handled by James Carmichael, Freddie Perren, and Willie Hutch – and it's heavy with slinky smooth soul groovers like "Do It Baby", "You Are Love", "What Is A Heart Good For", and "Give Me Just Another Day", one of a few great cuts on the record written by Leon Ware! This much needed Hip-O Select package includes a bonus track, too: Tom Moulton's mix of "Do It Baby" – which extends that classic cut to more than 7 minutes of dancefloor soul greatness!

An album of dance-oriented tracks by The Miracles – recorded to cash in on the big early success of their hit "Mickey's Monkey"! The set leaps and jumps with the same sort of energy as that great track – a side of The Miracles' talents that's a bit more upbeat than usual. And while we miss the ballads and mellower cuts that we love from the group in their early years, we really love the full-on Holland & Dozier production – which pushes the tunes along strongly with a real wall of sound! Titles include "Mickey's Monkey", "Dance What You Wanna", "The Wah-Watusi", "Dancin Holiday", "Land Of 1000 Dances", "Do You Love Me", and "The Groovey Thing". Away We A Go Go is a fantastic album from Smokey and the crew! The record features insanely wonderful lead vocals by Smokey, on a lot of tracks that are less familiar than the big hits – but still really really wonderful. Backing by the group is great, too – and the overall sound is extremely sweet harmony soul, with a perfect Motown set of arrangements behind the band. Titles include "Can You Love A Poor Boy", "Baby Baby", "I'm The One You Need", "Save Me", "Oh Be My Love", and "Swept For You Baby".

A sweet set of late 60s groovers – some of Stevie's best work for Motown, and proof that even at a young age, his talents were rich enough to warrant a second volume of greatest hits! Titles hardly need introduction – as the album includes classics like "Heaven Help Us All", "My Cherie Amour", "Shoo Be Doo Be Doo Da Day", "Signed Sealed Delivered", "For Once In My Life", "If You Really Love Me", and "Yester Me, Yester You, Yesterday".

One of the classics, and an album that's filled with a sense of majesty and power that will knock you dead – despite the stupid cover of Stevie sitting on a hill, playing in the dirt! By this point, Stevie knows he's on top of the world – and he's honing the sophisticated experiments of the previous few albums into a tightly woven pop sound that would pay Motown a huge dividend for letting him take chances with his music! Includes the big hits "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" and "Superstition", plus the amazing mellow synthesizer classic "You've Got It Bad Girl" and the fuzzy funky "Maybe Your Baby". Great stuff, and one that won't let you down!

This self titled album is fantastic solo work from Smokey – recorded a few years before his monumental Quiet Storm album, but with a very similar high level of quality! Willie Hutch co-produced the album with Smokey, and working with arrangements by Hutch and Gene Page, they transform Smokey's sound into a sophisticated 70s modern one, adding in slight touches of funk, and complicated backings that really let him open up as a singer, both vocally and emotionally. The whole thing's got a wonderful mellow soul groove, and titles include "Wanna Know My Mind", "Baby Come Close", "The Family Song", "Just My Soul Responding", "Holly", "A Silent Partner In A Three-Way Love Affair", and "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" Quiet Storm is incredible – a record that should be in every household! Smokey breaks free of the group sound of the Miracles albums – hitting a whole new mode, and inventing the "Quiet Storm" radio format along the way! The title cut – "Quiet Storm" – is a majestic long-building track that's as important to mellow soul as Larry Mizell's work was to jazz funk at the same time, and it's got a similar layering effect that has sounds building and spinning, with a bit of sound effects, great keyboards, and cool moogy touches that recall some of Bobbi Humphrey's best work for Blue Note, but filtered through a mellow ballad style. The whole album's great, and other tracks include "Baby That's Backatcha", "The Agony & The Ecstasy", "Coincidentally", and "Wedding Song". Proof that Motown was still great in the 70s!

A wonder batch of rare Motown material from Detroit singer Marv Johnson – a vocalist who started out working for Berry Gordy in the late 50s, recording the some of the first material to be released on the Tamla Motown label, and recorded all of the terrific material on this set for Motown from the mid 60s to the start of the 70s! Johnson didn't find his way into the historical canon the way many of the great solo singers and groups he helped pave the way for, but he's no less worthy! This set from Kent UK includes all the tracks from the I'll Pick A Rose For My Rose LP plus previously unreleased numbers numbers and rare mono single mixes – really beautiful stuff and a vital rediscovery of Marv's overlooked work at Motown! Titles include "I'll Pick A Rose For My Rose", "I'm Not A Plaything", "Why Do You Want To Let Me Go", "Bad Girl", "I Miss You Baby (How I Miss You)", the previously unreleased gems "There Goes A Lonely Man", "Understanding", "Farewell Is A Lonely Sound" and more, plus mono versions of several album tracks. 26 tracks in all!

A beautiful collection of all the great and rare material Eddie Holland cut as solo singer in the late 50s and early 60s – including the incredible early Motown material, plus tracks he cut for Mercury, Kudo, Tamla and United Artists! Of course Eddie Holland is best remembered for uber-legendary work as producer, composer and arranger with the Holland-Dozier-Holland super soul unit – for damn good reason, but it's his early work as singer is way too strong to be considered a mere footnote to his greater legacy. Many of the cuts were written and produced by Berry Gordy, along with numbers written and produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier, some recorded more famously by later acts, so what you truly have here is the foundation for great things to come – it's beautiful stuff that shines brightly in its own light. Eddie's a solid singer and the songs are terrific, formative stuff that's a pivotal bridge from earlier R&B to massive soul. 56 tracks on 2CDs: "Little Miss Ruby", "Will You Love Me", "Just A Few More Days", "It's Not Too Late", "Just Ain't Enough Love", "Brenda", "Baby Shake", "Magic Mirror", "If Cleopatra Took A Chance", "Action Speaks Louder than Words", "Bashful Kind", "Too Late To Cry", "Happy Go Lucky", "Pretty Little Angel Face", "Day Dreamer", "Rain And Thunder", "I Like Everything About You", "Happy Days" and many more. This set goes deeper than any compilation we've seen of Eddie's recordings, too, with a number of previously unissued Mercury recordings.